Bridgeport Board of Education member Maria Pereira speaks about a proposal to eliminate school resource officer positions during the board's meeting at Geraldine Johnson School in Bridgeport, Conn. on Monday, June 27, 2016. The board is facing a large budget deficit. less

Bridgeport Board of Education member Maria Pereira speaks about a proposal to eliminate school resource officer positions during the board's meeting at Geraldine Johnson School in Bridgeport, Conn. on Monday, ... more

Board member Maria Pereira, after making it clear she did not recognize Mayor Joseph Ganim’s appointee to the board, announced she intends to challenge the matter in court.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Pereira moved to have the board’s attorney file a lawsuit against the mayor and city over the appointment.

The meeting disintegrated into shouts, gavel pounds and a motion to adjourn before a vote could be taken. Whether that matters could be up for a judge to decide.

Segarra-Negron, a Republican, was named to the panel this summer after the city school board failed to name a replacement for Dave Hennessey who resigned last spring.

Pereira said that in her view, the mayor has no authority under state statues to appoint a new school board member. That comes despite opinions to the contrary by both board and city attorneys.

“The statute that he is referencing clearly states ‘unless there is another law,’ and there is a specific statute for Board of Education vacancies that says unless the city charter language or a special act (specify otherwise), that the remaining board members shall fill the vacancy,” Pereira said.

As such, she said there is no 30-day time limit and no handing off the decision to the mayor.

Mark Anastasi, an attorney for the city, was at the meeting but was not permitted to speak to the issue.

The attempt to get the matter voted up or down is part of an effort to show a judge that administrative relief was sought before taking the issue to court. A misstep like that is what led the State Supreme Court in 2013 to decide Paul Vallas could keep his job as a city superintendent without a state administrator’s certificate.